A Taste for the Theatrical
by facethisnight
Summary: In an attempt to show Batman's face to Gotham, the Joker also presents a story to them and Batman. Though, is revealing Batman's identity all that the Joker expected? Batman/Joker
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This really my first batman fanfiction so please bare with me!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Batman or any of it's characters!

-- -- --

Standing in his common position on top of the high buildings in Gotham, Batman looked down over the city. The night had been abnormally quiet tonight. Bruce had heard a few car chases and saw an attempted robbery but the police seemed to have everything covered. He wanted to hope that maybe tonight, he'd be able to take a break and get some sleep. Staring up at the dark, gray clouds hanging in the sky, Batman knew that it was not going to happen. He needed to stay alert at all times and be prepared for the worst.

Almost on cue, a bright light shone from one of the buildings in Gotham. The light was stopped by the clouds, revealing the bat signal. With a strong push, Batman jumped off the edge of the building and glided down to the searchlight. There stood Gordon, with his hands in his pockets. He looked satisfied to see that Batman arrived.

"What's the problem?" Batman asked in his deep voice.

"We have a situation." Gordon pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "The Joker has held the theatre downtown hostage. All of the audience, cast and crew are all trapped in the building."

Bruce stared at him with a confused look through the cowl. "Why couldn't the police take care of it?"

"They barricaded all of the doors. Just when we were about to break them down, we found this tape." Gordon took his hands out of his pocket and raised his right, showing a tape recorder. He pushed down the play button and let Batman listen to it.

"I want the Batman here! I want him to come see my show!" The Joker's voice happily laughed. "Only the Batman! If he does not come by midnight or officers follow him, I'll blow this place up! I'll light up the sky!" He insanely giggled. Batman could hear a few cries in the background. The tape then clicked and went silent.

The Commissioner and the Detective stared at each other for a few seconds. While Bruce was lost in his own thoughts, Gordon stood still, waiting for an answer. After moments of silence, Gordon sighed. "Well?"

"I don't have much of a choice." Batman replied in his grizzly voice. "Have your men surround the building at 12:30. Hopefully, taking care of this clown won't take me more than a half an hour."

The man in the cape turned to the ledge of the building when Gordon made a last comment. "You might want to hurry. It's ten till." Batman gave a quick nod and dove off the building.

Gliding in the air once again, Bruce wondered how he was going to get to the theatre so quickly. He did not have the Batpod with him, it would take Alfred too long to get out here and it was not like he could call a taxi or something. His best bet would be gliding, though Bruce hadn't done it for as long as he was right now.

It took his eight minutes to fly to the theatre. Landing on the roof, Bruce prayed that the Joker had not decided to act early. He looked around, trying to find an entrance when he noticed something writing on the gravel of the roof. "THIS WAY." It read it red paint, with a large arrow pointing off the building.

Bruce jumped down, landing with a small grunt. Right as he landed, he saw more writing in paint. They read the same thing but the arrows pointed in a different direction. Following the arrows, Bruce questioned if it was safe to follow the Joker's directions. For all he knew, it could lead him to some death trap. Of course he was going to need to be cautious while falling into a maniacs trap.

All of the arrows led him to a normal side door. Like all the other messages, "OPEN ME!" was painted in red on the door. He opened the door and walked in, only to the have the door slam itself shut. The area around him was pitch dark. Bruce growled to himself. Did he walk into a horror film?

Attempting to search the area, Batman found more messages glowing neon green in the dark. He had to admit, the Joker seemed to put much more effort in this one than he normally did in all of his other crimes. The glow-in-the-dark messages said the same thing as the ones outside. Growing tired of the Joker's game, he lazily followed.

After walking for a minute, Bruce spotted a large splash of glow-in-the-dark paint ahead of him. Had the Joker killed the guy painting and it spilled everywhere. Batman ran to the spot. Standing on top of the paint splotch, Bruce discovered that it was a skull and crossbones.

Before he could do anything, Bruce felt a misty substance spray into his face. He sank to his knees just as bright spotlight shone down on him. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Our other actor has finally arrived! We can now start the show!" Batman heard the Joker shout happily. Another spotlight revealed the Joker standing on top of a large platform. The light also allowed Batman to see where he was.

Bruce was on the main stage, looking out at the hundreds of hostages. He opened his mouth to shout something but all that came out was a loud groan. To his horror, Bruce found that he could not move at all. His arms and legs remained in the same place, no matter how hard he fought. Joker must have sprayed him with a short-term paralysis drug.

All he could do was look around. The audience did not seem to be tied down but they all still looked horrified. That was when he noticed men standing at each door with guns. Also, there were men on each side of the stage. Allowing his head to tilt back slightly, he spotted a man on the catwalk with an RPG. That could defiantly be a problem.

"Let's begin!"

More lights faded on, showing a downtown building set. The buildings were all different heights, though the one the Joker was on was only about ten feet. The rest of the "city" was shown by a backdrop. Bruce did not remember the original play being showed here having all this city stuff. The Joker really did prepare for this. What was he planning on doing with him?

"Tonight, we will be telling you classic tale of the Thief and the Detective!" Bruce noticed the look of confusion on everyones face, though no one made a sound. "And with a bonus, at the end, Batman's secret identity will be revealed!" He cackled. The Joker stood atop the platform with a wide grin on his face, occasionally licking his lips.

The lights all faded back down but one spotlight on the Joker. "Let's start with an introduction. For a while now, the Detective had been chasing the Thief. It had all started when he stole a little thing from the bank and since, they had been chasing each other. Soon, the two began to realize that the Detective chased the Thief to put him in prison but the Thief also chased after the Detective. He craved the others attention, hoping that he'd someday see him more than just a Thief."

The Joker jumped off his platform, landing terribly. Bruce winced. Most would have sprained their ankles jumping from that height. Yet, the Joker walked over to him with no limp. Was the man even human? "He stole things for attention but the Detective was so hard-headed, he payed no attention to it."

For the first time, Bruce noticed how calm the Joker had been sounding during his narration. It reminded him of when Gordon had told him that the Joker had a "taste for the theatrical, just like himself". The skinny man pushed back his green curls as he stepped closer.

Bruce clenched his fists to see that he could move his hands. Hopefully, the spray would wear off quicker than it seemed like it was.

"The Detective chased after the Thief but every time he got close, the Thief would get farther away." Unexpectedly, the floor Batman had been sitting on began to rise. The Joker let out a happy giggle, seeing the Bat's surprised expression. "The Thief would not let himself get caught until the Detective realized his intentions."

"Why are you doing this?" Bruce growled. It had meant to be louder but he was just regaining control of his mouth again.

The Joker had still heard it. "Why am I doing this?" He laughed, brushing his purple sleeves with his white gloves. "They should know the story."

Batman slowly shook his head. "Why do you want to do this in front of them? I thought you just wanted to know my identity."

The Joker's expression turned to a glare for a few seconds. He knew the audience couldn't hear since the Bat did not have a microphone on him. "Batsy! I want everyone to know who you are!" He said happily. "Now, now. Don't interrupt my story! Let me finish, Honey." His lively green eyes twinkled.

Clearing his throat, the Joker faced the audience again. "As the two got closer, they realized that they both wore masks." His voice was soft again. Batman found it calming as he listened to the clown tell his story. He felt his eyelids drifting down. He began to debate with himself with what he was supposed to do. He could just let everything pass and wake up in police custody. Then again, if he let himself fall asleep, the Joker would reveal who he was to everyone.

Bruce shook his head and opened his eyes. The Joker was still going. "The Detective wore a mask to hide who he was while the Thief wore a mask to create an identity for himself. The two reasons were actually very similar."

He didn't know how much longer he could take of this. Just sitting there, listening to the Joker go on and on while he could not do a thing. He stretched out his fingers and brought then back into a fist. He was slowly gaining his movement again.

Luckily, the Joker got lost in his own world for the next few minutes. As he continued his narration and jumped from building to building, some henchmen played extras, running around and doing their own things. Batman began to be able to flex his toes and bend his legs. He attempted to push himself up a few times but none were successful.

"In many ways, it was obvious that they were made for each other." The Joker smiled widely, the scars on his mouth making it look even scarier. "Yet, there-" Bruce watched as one of Joker's men ran up to him and whispered something in his ear. The Joker's face turned sour at once. "How the hell did you guys let them in, you idiots?" The Joker pulled out a knife from his long purple jacket. "I'm sorry to announce to you all," He spoke to the audience. "but we have some visitors and our show is going to be cancelled."

The Joker jumped on the platform where Bruce had been sitting. A rope dropped from the rafters and the Joker quickly tied it around their waists and had his men pull them up. Right as they got to their safe hiding spot, the doors around the theatre burst open. Cops took down the Joker's men, meanwhile all of the hostages dashed out the door.

The Joker sighed, glancing at the henchmen who had been watching from the top. "What is it?" he hissed through his yellow teeth.

"Why did you bring him up here?"

"I'm not finished with him." He told his slave. "Go do lookout." He waved him away, giving him the 'leave now or I'll kill you' look. The man jumped, grabbed his rocket launcher and ran off.

Now alone, the Joker looked down at the captured bat. "Well, Batsy, what do you plan to do now?" He leaned down to look at his features.

"Kick your ass." Batman's fist flew up, making hard contact with the Joker's cheek. He jumped back and put his fists up. Batman still did not have complete control of his limbs and everything around him swayed and he was not as fast as he wanted to be. But he would have to manage.

"Oh, Bats." The Joker giggled and began walking towards him. "Why must you cause trouble? I just want to play." He grabbed the armored man by the shoulders and flung him down. Batman moaned in pain from the impact. The Joker leaned over him and pinned him down.

"Wh-What are you doing?" Bruce fought to say. The Joker was growing closer to him. He tried to lift his arms to push the man away but he couldn't.

"Shhhhh... Just relax." The Joker laughed, closing the gap between the two.

Bruce smelled the makeup on the Joker's face. It was all he could concentrate on. He was confused, wondering why in the world the Joker was kissing him. He felt the Joker's tongue pushing against his mouth and glared at the Joker. In frustration, the Joker backed away, licking his lips. "You're tasty, Batsy. I'd love to have a better taste." He smirked.

"What makes you think I would do anything for you? Especially something so digusting as kissing you."

"Aww, you don't hate it, Bats. I actually think you would like it more if you opened up." The Joker smiled at Batman's shudder as he felt the Joker's knee rub slowly on his crotch. "Come on." He bent down and kissed Batman again. He continued to fight past the detective's lips. The Joker growled in frustration, having no luck. Keeping one of his hands on the larger man's shoulder, the other glided down to crotch and began to trace circles on the fabric.

Bruce gasped but quickly regretted it. The Joker chuckled in his mouth, gaining access to go deeper into the Bat's. He moaned, trying to get Batman to respond somehow. He ran his free hand across the Bat's body, trying to get some reaction.

That is, until they were interrupted. "Boss, they're com-" He froze in place.

The Joker rose his head and glared at the man. "What now?" His voice sounded demonic, as it did when he was extremely angry.

"The cops are searching the place for you and Batman. We gotta get outta this place!" He told him frantically.

With the Joker's attention directed away from him, Bruce jumped up and landed a kick on the Joker's chest. The Jester coughed, clutching his chest as he looked back up at Batman. He chuckled softly. "Do it." He told the henchman.

From behind one of the posts holding up the platform that hung above the stage, he pulled out a large canister. He twisted a knob and a high pitched hissing noise came from it, along with a light mist that filled the air. Bruce saw the Joker and his man cover their mouths but could not react in time. The place began to spin and grow dark. All the noses faded and everything went black.

Twisting the knob, the Joker waited a few seconds to uncover his mouth. He stared down at the unconscious body below. "Get the car ready." The man jumped, grabbed his weapon and left like before.

The Joker glanced from side to side, making sure no one else was around. When he was sure it was safe, the Joker bent down and smirked. "Let's see who's behind the mask." He reached out with a hand on each side of the cowl. The Joker hesitated at first. Did he really want to ruin everything? What if he did not like who he found?

He shook his head. He knew that this was his chance. The Joker grabbed each side and pulled the bat shaped cowl off.

Seeing the man's face, the Joker could not hold in his gasp. This was truly a surprise. Bruce Wayne. The last remaining member of the Wayne family was Gotham's Batman? Priceless. Absolutely priceless.

But his identity soon became less important than the face he was staring at. Bruce Wayne was so young and handsome. Smooth, dark brown hair. Soft skin. Thin lips. Sure, Bruce was as old, if not older than himself but Bruce took care of himself, making himself look younger.

The Joker's green eyes fell on his lips again. Without the mask, Batman was so much more... human. The Joker leaned down, pressing his lips against the others once more.

Backing away, the Joker laughed happily. Oh, the fun he was going to have now that he knew who the Dark Knight of Gotham was.

-- -- --

Bruce groaned loudly as he felt the sunlight break into his room. The billionaire grabbed his comforter and buried himself under it.

Alfred stood by the window, sighing to himself. Once again, Bruce was acting like a child. "Master Bruce. It is three in the afternoon. No respectable man sleeps until three in the afternoon."

"I don't have to be respected." Bruce's muffled voice replied from under the blanket. "I just want to sleep."

Taking a deep breath, Alfred rolled his eyes. "There's a piece of mail that I think you would be very interested in reading." He told the man.

"Like what?"

Alfred pulled out a playing card and glanced at it. "Who do you know that refers to you as 'honey'?"

At once, Bruce rose from his bed, pushing away all of the blankets. Sitting on his bed in his pajama pants, Bruce stared up at the butler. "Let me see." The older man took a few strides to hand Bruce the card. It was a joker card you could find in any card deck. The same ones the Joker normally used. Around the joker figure, there was a message. It read:

"Who would have guessed that the Prince of Gotham is also it's Dark Knight? I'll be looking forward to seeing you again, honey."

Bruce felt his heart sink to his stomach. When did the Joker find out?

TBC!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **This really my first batman fanfiction so please bare with me!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Batman or any of it's characters!

-- -- --

"That concludes our meeting." Lucius Fox told everyone who sat around the large black table. The men all stood up, shook hands and turned to leave the room. Meanwhile, Bruce journeyed over to the large windows and looked out them, waiting for everyone to leave. "I'm surprised." The older man stepped towards him with a soft chuckle. "You stayed up this time. Most of the time, you fall asleep at some point."

"Guess I slept enough last night." Bruce said with a deep sigh. He placed one of his hands in his pocket while the other rested on the glass window.

"No more all-nighters then?" Lucius asked. He was smiling. The man must have been amused at how much Bruce was annoyed that he slept enough.

"My work was cut short." The billionaire stated. He turned his head to see a man had been waiting for the two to stop talking. "Yes?" Bruce's voice sounded slightly irritated.

"I would like to speak to Mr. Wayne." His voice was shaky as he held the briefcase in his hands close to his chest. "Alone." The man faced Lucius.

Bruce and Lucius stared at each other, skeptical of the man in front of them. A few moments later, Lucius merely nodded and walked towards the door. Before exiting, he glanced back. Now that he had thought about it, Lucius had never seen the man before. He wondered who he was and who he worked with. The man hadn't spoke throughout the whole meeting. What was his purpose for speaking with Bruce? He just sighed and hoped that the man was not up to anything as he closed the door behind him.

"Now, what is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" Bruce placed his other hand in his pocket as his dark eyes looked up at him. He took a few seconds to analyze the man. He was short and looked to be in his mid forties. His faded brown hair had been slicked back. Though, the suit he wore seemed a little too bit for him. As he reached his hand out to shake Bruce's hand, the sleeve slid down past his hand. He quickly pulled it back up and chuckled nervously.

"My name is James Barkley and I would like to speak to your about contributing to a foundation that is beginning to fall, being the famous philanthropist that you are." He laughed again as Bruce shook his hand stiffly.

"Sure, I'd like to hear about it." He kindly smiled, leading the man back by the table they had just been sitting at. Bruce growled in his head. This man did not look like the kind of guy who would run a foundation of any sort. He must have been subbing in for his absent boss.

The man placed his briefcase on the table. "We've been trying to raise money for scholarships for less fortunate children who are trying to get into college." He told Bruce. Bruce had to hold in an annoyed look. This guy could not be serious. "But, we are having problems finding contributors." The man continued speaking. "If you would help us, we would greatly appreciate it."

Bruce at this point would do anything to get this man out of his sight. "I'd love to. Let me just-" He was interrupted by a soft buzz. Leaning over the table, Bruce pushed the intercom button. "One moment, please." He told the man. "Yes, Jessica?"

"There is a man who would like to see you." Bruce took notice to the slight shakiness of her voice.

"Does he have an appointment?"

"No."

"He's going to have to come back another time."

There was a small squeak from the woman. "Please, sir. Can you just quickly see him?"

"Jessica, what's wrong?"

The woman then let out a loud cry. "Please, Mr. Wayne!"

"Send him in." Bruce felt nervous. Was there someone who was that desperate to see him?

He turned to face the other man. "Let me sign what you need signed. As you heard, I am going to be seeing someone else." The older man nodded and turned his briefcase. With two loud clicks, he opened the black case. He grabbed the stack of papers and placed them in front of Bruce.

As Bruce went to sign the paper, he noticed that the man had given him a blank piece of paper. He went through all the pages, holding his pen tightly. Every single piece of paper was just a sheet of blank computer printer paper.

Bruce turned his head as the door clicked and was pushed open slowly. This was a set up. A trap. The only thing left to see was the mastermind of it all, who Bruce was sure was on the other side of the door. He felt the other man back away from him as the door was completely opened.

A man in a purple suit stood there holding Jessica hostage. His arm was holding her close to him by her neck, the other held a knife that was also pointed her jugular artery. The young secretary was crying softly under his arms, giving Bruce begging looks of help.

His eyes traveled up to the man's face. His long, dark brown hair was messy and pulled back behind his ears. His green eyes glittered with amusement and his grin was extended by the scars on each side of his face. Bruce almost did not recognize him without his white face makeup, black paint around his eyes and the red lipstick, covering his lips and the grotesque glasgow smile.

"Joker?" He asked.

The woman shouted in terror as he giggled. "So you know of me?" The Joker let go of Jessica and threw her down to the floor. "I didn't know I was that famous. I'm honored." Bruce held his glare at the man. "Or, are you just too shy to admit how familiar you are with me, Batsy?"

Bruce turned around, acting like he had no idea what the crazy clown was talking about. He went to the intercom, where he picked up the phone to find the wire cut. His eyes fell on the man with the briefcase, whistling innocently. He then looked down at the woman who was trying to push herself up with her hands tied together.

"What did you do?" Bruce held up the phone.

"Me?" The Joker looked around, as if he were talking to someone else. "I just got in here. How would I be able to get over there?" He pointed to where Bruce was. "I'd blame it on this guy here." The Joker then pointed to the man with the briefcase. "Speaking of which," He took strides towards the short man and patted him on the head. "Good boy. Now, run along like a good dog."

Bruce watched the man quickly run out of the room. His eyes fell on the Joker, who was slowly growing closer. "Now, it is just you and me." He smiled. With his smile, Bruce noticed how handsome the Joker was. He looked like he was about thirty without his makeup. It was surprising to see that the Joker actually looked human without his disguise.

"What did you do to her?"

"Why do you ask so many questions?" The Joker's shoulders fell as he complained. "It's so annoying. And she's just tied up. Don't worry." He smirked again. The Joker seemed to stop to think for a second. He then turned around and grabbed her. The Joker dragged the woman out of the room. Meanwhile, Bruce was trying to think of what he was supposed to do. He knew he couldn't do anything until he found out what the Joker was doing. Of course, by then, he could have killed tons of people.

The Clown Prince made his way back into the room, shutting the doors behind him. "Now, why don't we-" Before the Joker could block, Bruce threw a punch that landed square in the chest. He backed away, doubled over and laughing. "Now, now, Mr. Wayne. We're both professionals here. Why don't we act like it?"

Bruce scowled at the man. The only thing that the Joker had done to make himself more "professional" besides removing his makeup and hair dye was the fact that he had made his usual suit jacket about a foot shorter. This made it look less like a trench coat and more like a suit. "Why are you here?"

"I already told you, Brucey." The criminal said with a childish tone.

Actually, he hadn't. Or Bruce might have just missed it. He was unsure but it did not matter to him.

The Joker noticed the other man's confusion and grinned. "I guess it was more of a word than a sentence." He said. "Why aren't you happy to see me, Batsy?"

"What are you talking about?" Bruce questioned, shaking his head.

"I get it." He ran his fingers through his natural brown hair, never taking his eyes off the billionaire. "You are going to act like you don't know what I am talking about. That you are just a normal billionaire playboy that has nothing with a certain vigilante in Gotham. You're telling me you never got my note?"

Bruce knew that he was speaking of the one Alfred had given him the other morning. Yet, he still refused to respond. He couldn't let the Joker know he had found out his identity. He would have to find a way to escape out of the situation without a scratch and showing the Joker that he was wrong about the identity of the Caped Crusader.

Hearing footsteps echo off the walls, Bruce turned just in time to look the Joker in the eyes as he grabbed onto the man's neck. "Stop ignoring me." He snapped. "Don't act like I don't know what I am talking about. I saw who was under that mask. I know when I am right."

He kept a straight face even though the Joker's hand was slowly cutting off his oxygen supply. "Your mask, that makeup you wear around your eyes, that stupid voice you use. I saw through them all. I figured out that Bruce Wayne is Batman!"

The Joker giggled happily as he watched Bruce struggle beneath him. He heard grunting coming from the man and suddenly became quiet, trying to understand what he was saying. "What do you want? A medal?" He managed out. The Joker growled at him and threw him down to the floor with an easy bend of his elbow.

Laying on the floor, coughing and attempting to regain the air he had lost, Bruce rolled onto his back. The Joker bent down over the man with a happy smirk. The way Bruce Wayne was laying, the sounds that escaped his mouth and the way some of his slicked back hair found it's way to hang in front of his eyes. It just made the man look so... fuckable.

By the time Bruce opened his eyes, the Joker had already began explore the body beneath him. He pulled back the collar to his black suit, looking at the skin beneath it. With a strong kick, Bruce managed to make the Joker go flying. The Joker landed on the marble table with a small grunt. Bruce leaned over the table so he could look the Joker in the eyes. "Leave. Now." He growled in a voice close to the one he used while he was in the Batman costume.

The Joker ignored the comment. Instead, he smiled and placed his hands on each side of Bruce's sides. "If you wanted to be on top, why didn't you just tell me?" He teased. Bruce punched him in the face before backing away.

"I'm calling the police. You need to be sent to Arkham." Bruce pulled out his cell phone. Just as he pressed a number, Bruce heard a metal 'clink'. He knew that it wasn't the sound of a gun. It was something much worse. Spinning on his heel, Bruce faced the clown again.

In his hand, the Joker held a metal detonator. The man smiled at the shocked look on Bruce's face. "That's right. I have explosives set up around the base of this building. If you don't do what I ask, I'll blow this place up. All the people on ground level, everyone on the higher floors and even the people in the streets will be killed. Thousands will die. Now, is being stubborn worth that many lives?"

Bruce placed the cell phone back in his pocket and raised his hands, showing that he was willing to negotiate. "What do you want?"

"There we go." The Joker laughed. "You finally care about what I want. That's all I need from you. To do what I want. If you do, then everything will be fine." He kept a firm grip on the detonator as he stuck it out for Bruce to see. "Don't call cops or reinforcements. I just want it to be me and you."

Bruce grimaced at the thought of whatever the Joker was speaking of. If he really wanted what he thought, there was no way Bruce was going to let him. He'd find a way out. Once again, Bruce was broken out of his thoughts by the sound of something ripping. He found the Joker pulling out a three foot piece of duct tape that he had apparently been keeping in his jacket, along with the detonator.

He took the piece of tape and taped the detonator to the palm of his hand. The Joker wrapped the tape around a few times and pushed it down, making sure it was secure. That was perfect. Now he could not take the detonator away. It pissed Bruce off even more.

"Also, if you think about, if you still refuse to listen to me and we somehow make it out alive after I detonate the bombs, I'll tell Gotham City that you are Batman! But that's highly unlikely. I don't think anyone could survive from this height." The Joker giggled happily. "Wouldn't it be so romantic? The two of dying together in a horrible tragedy?"

"Especially when you are the one who caused it." Bruce said under his breath so the Joker could not hear. He knew that if the Joker blew up the place, Wayne Enterprises would be forever lost. Tons of people would die and Gotham would return to it's former anarchy. Or, at least more of the anarchy it had not reached yet. It was all too much to risk. At least if Bruce agreed to the insane man's requests, he would be the only one to suffer and he could bare through it.

Bruce's knuckles were white. He had an angry look on his face but still said, "Fine. I'll do what you say." Hearing this, the Joker began laughing loudly with happiness. He began to walk around the billionaire, clapping his hands. "What is it that you want?"

He grew uncomfortable as the Joker's circles closed in around him. "Didn't I already tell you?" Bruce hated it when he said that. The Joker swung around and Bruce felt shivers travel down his spine as he felt the Joker's lips on his right ear. "You."

The Joker spun away, still laughing. Meanwhile, Bruce froze in place. He was filled with disgust, but also fear. He had decided to just sacrifice himself and he knew that he was going to be able to bare with whatever the Joker threw at him but Bruce did not know what would happen after that. It frightened him that he had just trusted the Joker when he knew he couldn't, no matter how much he claimed to be a 'man of his word'.

"No one is going to die?" Bruce had to make sure nothing would happen.

The Joker held up the hand with the detonator in it. With a flick of his thumb, he flipped the cover over the button. "No one. As long as you cooperate."

As reluctant as Bruce was, it was the only way that he would be able to successfully negotiate with the Joker. "Then I guess I will agree to the deal..."

TBC!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **This really my first batman fanfiction so please bare with me! And I'm sorry this took so long to post! ...It's just too damn long. xD

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Batman or any of it's characters!

**Warning: **This chapter contains adult content.

-- -- --

Bruce's arms fell down to his sides. His eyes were wide with disbelief as he stared at the smiling scarred man. He found himself shaking his head. "You can't be serious."

"Normally, I am not but today, I am going to make an exception." The Joker placed his hands in his pockets. He wanted to let his hands hang by his sides but he knew that it would not look very convincing. To win this battle, he was going to look convincing. "There's nothing wrong with a night, now is there?" He asked.

Yes! Yes, there is! Bruce was screaming in his mind over and over that there were so many things wrong with this. Yet, he kept his "remotely surprised" look on the outside. In their moment of silence, Bruce noticed how fast his heart had begun to beat. He gulped loudly and brought his eyes from his feet back to the Joker. "So, let me get this right. You just want to spend a night with me?"

"Just? Batsy, you make it sound like its a simple thing." The Joker took a step closer to Bruce but the billioniare quickly backed away. "I plan on doing much more than _simple_ things." Once again, with another step forward, Bruce stepped back.

Bruce grimaced at the Joker. What was this man actually planning? Did he just want to kill him? Was he going to torture him? While lost in his own thoughts, Bruce did not noticed the Joker was now in reaching distance. In fact, the Joker was touching Bruce. Bruce jumped as he felt the tingle of the Joker's index finger tracing his chest and slowly gliding down to his thigh. With a hard kick to the side, Bruce walked past the Joker.

"Nice one." The Joker giggled, bent over and clutching his side. "But remember, if you are that reluctant on performing this small request, I have alternatives." Like a smoker would pull out their lighter, the Joker uncovered the C-4 detonator and held his thumb over the button.

"Wait!" Bruce found himself raising his voice out of panic. "What do I need to do to make sure you don't kill anyone?"

"I don't want anyone at your house. All of your little maids and butlers need to take a hike. I want it to just be you and me tonight."

Bruce felt his eyes grow wider. He never heard the Joker mention anything about his penthouse until now. Why did he add this new condition? Still, Bruce nodded and pulled out his cell phone and texted Alfred, repeating the words the Joker had just said. He lifted the phone to show the smaller man. Bruce did not want him to have any reason to kill someone.

"Good." The Joker headed towards the door. He looked back over his shoulder. "Well, are you coming, honey?" He winked. With a deep sigh, Bruce found himself closely following the insane criminal.

"Mr. Wayne." One of the guards nodded to him as they reached the elevator. A few steps back, the Joker had allowed Bruce to take the lead, just incase anyone grew suspicious.

Walking into the elevator, the Joker eagerly stepped in also. Glancing over at the younger man, Bruce could not help but wonder about the man. He looked amused by the red velvet walls and the gold floor buttons. "Bruuucey." He sang, swinging around to face him. "You know what two people do in an elevator when they are alone together?"

"Stand and wait patiently." Bruce said without a second thought.

"You're no fun." The Joker snickered, dusting off his suit jacket. He could see his reflection in the metal elevator doors and quickly fixed his hair.

Meanwhile, Bruce was beginning to question why his family decided to go with seventy floors for the Wayne Enterprises building because it had to be the most miserable elevator ride of his life. Finally, after forty five seconds of awkwardness, the two stepped out.

The Joker hid his hands behind his back to make sure that the guards did not see the detonator in his hand. "A car is waiting for you in the front, sir." A man told Bruce as he held the door open for the billionaire and his friend. The two walked out to the black Mercedes, where a man with an English accent said, "Hello, sir." He opened the door and the Joker jumped in with no hesitation.

Shutting the door, Alfred look at Bruce with concern. "Sir, may I ask what you are doing with him?"

"I'm sorry, Alfred, but I have to or else thousands will die." Bruce and the butler slowly walked to the other side of the car. "Them dying because of me being stubborn is intolerable." He faced Alfred with a faint smile. "Just have the cops at the mansion by six in the morning."

Alfred nodded and opened the door. Bruce slipped in the car softly. He glanced over at the Joker, who was smirking wildly. Bruce leered at the man. He did not feel comfortable sitting in a car, next to his enemy. Bruce told himself that he would not say a thing to him until the man was trapped in his mansion. Of course, the Joker was not going to let that happen.

"What's the back story?" The Joker rested his chin in his hand. "How did this all start? How did little Brucey become Bats?"

Bruce's eyes slowly traveled over to the man in the purple suit. He did not say anything.

"Did all of the guilt and sadness of losing his mommy and daddy finally get to you? Finally, you decided that maybe, if you could stop other criminals, that it could not happen to anyone else?" The Joker intertwined his fingers together and rested them behind his head. "Or is it more of a personal satisfaction thing? You feel that you cannot do enough as Bruce Wayne so you think that if you can try to help Gotham under incognito, then you will have more meaning in life."

Bruce felt his nails digging into his fists. He loosened his grip but when he clenched them again, they were just as hard. Bruce began to wonder what he had gotten himself into. Was he really going to be able to survive a whole night with this man?

"We are not that different, you and I." The Joker laughed. "In fact, we are very much alike."

Rolling his eyes, Bruce peeked up to the front seat where Alfred was driving. The man must have sensed his distress because Bruce could see the old man's eyes looking worried in the rear view mirror. Through the front window, Bruce could see that they were almost at his mansion. Thank God, he thought. At least they would not be this close in his large house.

Alfred pulled up to the side of the house. At once, Bruce darted out of the car. "Set things the second we close the door, got it?" He told Alfred, who had opened the driver's door. Bruce went around to the Joker's side, grabbed his wrists and yanked him out.

"Oh, Batsy." He giggled as the billionaire dragged him to his house. "Oh, nice place you got." The Joker's eyes looked at the large mansion. He glanced over his shoulder to mouth "Goodbye!" to Alfred, who only scowled back. Once they reached the door, Bruce literally kicked the Joker in and shut the door. There was a minute of silence. The Joker, sitting on his behind on the floor stared up at Bruce. He noticed that he was waiting for something.

And then it happened. The loud sound of metal sliding and hitting metal filled the room as every window and door was covered with steal-plated shields. It took a few minutes for the process to complete. Once it was finished, silence swept the room again. With a chuckle, the Joker looked up at Bruce. "Well prepared, I see."

With that, Bruce walked away from the crazy man. He let out a sigh of relief. At least, if the Joker destroyed anything in here, it could be replaced. Bruce looked up at the clock. It was seven o' clock. He had to survive almost twelve hours with Gotham's most wanted man.

Immediately, the Joker jumped up and followed Bruce. The billionaire checked over his shoulder and sighed, continuing to ignore him. Meanwhile, the Joker's eyes wandered around the place. He was still having a hard time registering Bruce Wayne as Batman and this made it even harder. Fancy china plates? Gold-plated picture frames with Bruce and his corperate partners?

Then again, the Joker was not sure he knew what to imagine. When he looked at Batman, he saw no one but Batman. Batman was the figure's identity. It was no disguise or character role. It was the person standing in front of him. Or maybe a puppet. A puppet controlled by this big business man walking in front of him.

"How long do you plan on following me?" Bruce finally spoke up. The Joker jerked his head up. He had been lost in his thoughts until now. It happened rarely but it happened.

He replaced his confused look with a grin and chuckled. "I'm the guest. Aren't you supposed to give me a tour?"

Bruce scoffed as he turned around and began to pace around the first floor once again. No matter what he did, the criminal continued to stalk him. They did this for another five minutes. Finally, becoming so agitated, Bruce swiftly turned around and roundhouse kicked the Joker right in the face. The smaller man fell down the ground, snickering as he wiped the blood that was emerging at the corners of his mouth. "That was uncalled for."

"It's just me and you. Nothing is 'uncalled for.'" He spat at the man. The Joker rose back to his feet while Bruce turned away. He looked up at the clock. He had wasted a half an hour mindlessly walking circles around the first floor. Growing bored of doing nothing, Bruce headed to the kitchen.

The Joker followed closely behind. A smile was planted on his face as he discovered they were entering the kitchen. At this point, the Joker broke off from the man and decided to search the kitchen himself. Bruce watched him from the corner of his eye as he pulled out a tomato from the kitchen. The Joker noticed and looked up, just as Bruce took a bite from the tomato.

"How disgusting..." The Joker grimaced. It was funny to look at, from Bruce's perspective.

"I disagree." He took another bite. A small bit of juice escape his lips and traveled down his chin. Bruce noticed the Joker watching it. "I could name worse things." He muttered, wiping the juice.

With the disappearance of the drop that the Joker was tempted to lick off himself, he continued his rummaging. Opening the cabinets, all that could be found were dishes and silverware. He looked in the pantry. There was only many kinds of bread and packaged foods. The Joker's head cocked to the left as he spotted a freezer one would find in a gas station. He opened the fog-covered glass and at once, a wide grin spread across his face. "Bingo." He giggled, pulling out a fudge bar. "Do you have a 7/11 in here or something?" The man joked, unwrapping his dessert and stuffing the top half in his mouth.

"It's just a simple freezer." Bruce sighed, finishing his tomato. He threw the bad pieces in the garbage. Leaning on the counter, he kept the Joker under surveillance as he continued on his ice cream. The manic noticed and smirked. He stuck his tongue out and let it travel from the bottom to the top of the dessert ever so slowly. He placed it in his mouth and pushed it in deep, sucking softly on the fudge bar for a few moments, then pulling it out with a small 'pop'.

Bruce began to notice the blush on his face. Why was he-? What was he aft-? Bruce quickly shook his head and turned away.

Meanwhile, the Joker chuckled to himself. He was incredibly easy to fluster. He finished his fudge bar, bit the wooden stick in half and threw it in the sink. He did not know where the garbage can was and like hell he was going to look for it.

Out in the living room, Bruce stood alone, thinking to himself. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he did not hear the Joker sneak up behind him. In fact, the only thing that knocked him out of his thoughts was when the Joker grabbed the waist of his pants and pulled him backwards. Of course, Bruce acted immediately, landing his elbow in the Joker's face.

The Joker backed away, clutching his nose. "You're so... violent." He muttered, though his voice sounded nasaly because he was holding his nose. Bruce turned around, almost saying something out of concern. He then remembered that this was the Joker and shrugged it off.

The Joker pulled his hand away from his nose. Yup, he was bleeding. Badly. He breathed in through his nose, trying to stop some of the blood from all rushing out. Smacking his lips together, the Joker ignored the taste of iron in his mouth. He knew Bruce was already flustered and embarrassed. He knew this was the perfect time and some stupid attack would not stop him.

He reached around Bruce again, whose elbow came flying at him again. As fast as he could, the Joker bent down, dodging it. He tackled Bruce, pushing him by his waist. The two of them tumbled down onto a couch that was nearby. Bruce landed with an 'umph'. He opened his eyes to find the Joker stradling him. Bruce harshly pushed with his leg to try to get the man off but had no success. The Joker just laughed, coughing from being kicked in the abdomen.

Bruce repeated again and again, but somehow the Joker remained looking down on him. His breathing had become staggered. Bruce could not help but begin to wonder. He had just kicked the shit out of this guy and he still insisted on staying on top of him? He bet one more kick would do the job. So, Bruce aimed another kick right for the criminal's ribs.

The Joker coughed loudly. His arms gave away and, going against Bruce's plan, the criminal landed in his lap. He held him by his shoulder, trying to pull the coughing man off of his lap. That was when Bruce realized it. Under the Joker's coughs, he was laughing. The bastard was still laughing?

Just as Bruce went to toss him away, the Joker grabbed Bruce by his shoulders. "The only way to get rid of me is to kill me." He snickered. "You should know that by now."

Bruce would have continued beating him but he was distracted by the Joker's expression. Why hadn't he noticed it before? He'd beaten the man up tons of times before. Maybe it was the makeup that hid everything before. Or maybe it was just because he never had thought of the Joker as "human" before. But the pained look in his face, even though he was laughing, made him look so human. The Joker was not supposed to be human. He was some type of monster who looked like a human being but had none of their emotions or feelings. As one would say, a wolf in sheep's clothing.

As the Joker began closing the distance between them, Bruce could not bring himself to push him away. The pain and desire reflecting in his eyes, along with the hints of green were too mesmerizing. Even as their lips touched, Bruce's eyes were still locked with the Joker's.

They remained still for a second. Then, the Joker began kissing him deeply. He fought for an entrance into the billionaire's mouth but Bruce finally reacted, keeping his lips tightly sealed. The Joker growled, frustrated and leaned back a few inches. He glared at Bruce but the man ignored it. The criminal took a minute to think over something. Then, "Come on, Brucey. Don't you ever want to have any fun?"

"Explain your definition of 'fun'." He scowled.

"Well, it all starts with you and I being in a large house together." He took a second to look around him. "Then, as time passes, we grow bored, so we begin to kiss." The Joker leaned in to kiss Bruce but still received nothing back. "Since you don't want to have fun, we try a different game."

The Joker's right hand slid from the man's shoulder, down his chest and stopped at the crotch. He scratched the surface of the fabric softly and then, unexpectantly, he grabbed onto Bruce.

The dark haired male let out a surprised gasp, giving his enemy the perfect chance. The Joker swooped in and kissed Bruce, sliding his tongue into the other's mouth. Bruce's eyes snapped open. He started pushing the Joker's shoulders but the other man began massaging his member with his thumb. Bruce's arms lost their strength and turned to jelly as they fell back to his side.

He felt the Joker's tongue slide against his and pulled back his own. This was disgusting. What was the maniac thinking? Okay... that was a stupid question. But what was he planning on doing? Why did he want to make out with him? Was it just so he could brag? Tell the other criminals he raped Bruce Wayne, the richest man in Gotham?

It did not matter. Bruce would not let it go any further anyway. Once he found an opening, (and made the bastard stop touching him down _there_) he would punch him, maybe even knock him out, handcuff him somewhere safe and wait until morning came to send him back to Arkham.

Bruce sighed inwardly and kissed back. It caught the Joker by suprise, making him stop in place. Bruce took this time to back away and push the other man away. "Why are you doing this?"

"You are not enjoying yourself? I have to say, this is quite a hoot." He chuckled, smirking at the leering man.

"I'm serious."

"I know." The Joker's smile fell to a disappointed look. "You are always so serious. Does it hurt to relax and smile for once?"

"When I'm around you?" Bruce said. "Yes."

The Joker shook his head. "You're no fun, Batsy."

"Who said I wanted to be?"

"Me." The Joker leaned in again. He decided not to go straight to the lips but began by his collar bone. He slowly worked up the larger man's neck, smiling as he worked. He had to be making some kind of progress if Bats hadn't punched him away yet. By the time he made his way back up to his lips, he discovered Bruce's expression to remain indifferent. Inching away, the Joker ran his fingers through his own hair.

"Why do think I wanted to be with you tonight?" He spoke to the Batman, his voice much lower and more serious than before. "Are you so naive to actually believe I wanted money or public attention?" His piercing green eyes met Bruce's again. "I thought you could not possibly be so blind as to think that I am doing this to be a criminal. We have been playing this bat and mouse game for months now, not because we are forced to, but because we want to. We enjoy being together, testing each other, _playing _with each other."

The Joker began working his hand on Bruce's member again, making the man moan softly. "No, Joker. That is you. Not me." He forced himself to say, trying his hardest not to show a reaction to the growing swelling in his pants caused by the man on top of him.

"You expect me to believe that?" He spat. "You're telling me that you truly keep the Batman persona just to "fight crime and clean the streets"? Scary-Johnny-Crow can't possibly pose a threat." With a flick of his thumb, the Joker undid the button of Bruce's slacks. "Admit it. You enjoy our games of tag."

"I won't because it's not the truth." He said with a straight face, though his face was growing red.

"Oh come on. I'll admit it. I love playing and dancing with you, Bats. I can't kill you because if I do, who else can survive as long as you have without boring me? You complete me. Maybe, in some crazy way, I love you."

Bruce felt himself choke for a second. Did the heartless monster just admit he might feel love? No wait, that was the wrong thing to be thinking at the moment. Bruce knew he was supposed to be wondering how the crazy man could love him. He can't love him! First of all, they were sworn enemies! Second, they were both men. Then again, Bruce never really believed that gender stopped love but this was the goddamn Joker!

"But it does not matter to you. So I will just deal with being forcing you to keep me with you for a night just to be forced back to Arkham tomorrow." He leaned down and began kissing Bruce. Bruce had to admit that he was surprised that the Joker knew about his plan for the next day. He found himself starting to feel bad for the Joker. Unrequited love hurt.

Quickly, Bruce scolded himself. He could not feel sorry for the maniac! Especially because he loved him!

But Bruce began to review the Joker's comments. Why had Bruce continued being Batman? He could have just left the Joker for the police. They would catch him. Yet, why did Bruce feel it was his responsibility to keep the Joker in check?

The Joker might as well have been making out with a mannequin. Bruce was making no movement. It was starting to anger the Joker. "You taste so good. I think I'd like to taste more." He whispered in the billionaire's ear, giving it a soft lick before backing away. At once, Bruce noticed the Joker's head drop. His face turned as red as a tomato as the Joker unzipped his pants with his teeth. He slid the man's pants down to his knees and smirked. "Black silk boxers. A man of great taste." He ran his calloused hands over the smooth underwear.

Bruce's hands had a vice-like grip on the Joker's. "You are not allowed to go any further." Bruce stared at his full hands and wondered how he could get handcuffs without freeing the Joker. While Bruce was thinking, the Joker giggled and bit the end of one of the legs of his boxers. He turned his head, pulling the boxers down an inch. Luckily, there was no possible way Bruce's face could get any redder.

This all seemed so childish. The Joker was persistent on removing Bruce's pants and when he got closer to achieving his goal, Bruce blushed like a seventh grader changing in the locker room for the first time.

The Joker repeated the action with the other leg. The man's waistband was riding on the edge of revealing everything. Oh god, Bruce thought. This could not be happening.

"Brucey, I'm just trying to help you relax. It won't hurt to give into pleasure every once in a while. Hell, this will feel nice. I'm sure someone has done this for you before." He fought for his hand back but no cigar. So instead, he went with his prior plans and with a hard yank with his head, the silk boxers slid down Bruce's thighs and down to the floor. The Joker's laughter started again as he stared at the other's unveiled member. "You're obviously enjoying this." He nodded, motioning towards it.

"I- You-" Bruce was at a loss for words.

"Just give in. You'll enjoy it even more if you let me continue." Still, Bruce's grip stayed. The Joker sighed. "What kind of man wouldn't want head after a frustrating day at work?"

"A sane one." Bruce growled.

"Let's put it this way. If I'm not sane, then you don't have to act sane when I am the only one around?" The Joker leaned down but Bruce yanked the other's arms higher, raising him a few inches. Growing frustrated, the Joker began to flail about. As before, his attempts proved to be in vain. "Brucey, don't you think I'd be a nice fuck?"

The dark haired man's eyes widened once again. Glancing down in the Joker's hands, Bruce realized that the detonator was still taped to the man's hand. Yet... He hadn't threatened him with it throughout this whole period of time. Was the Joker really willing to let someone else willingly choose? His eyes dropped slightly. Maybe this one time could not hurt. As long as no one else knew, everything would be okay, right?

The Joker glanced up to noticed that slowly, Bruce's grip was releasing. He smirked evilly at the billionaire. "I knew you would see things my way."

Bruce grimaced at the comment. He prayed that he did not regret this.

Heat spread through his body as the Joker wrapped his hand around him. He brought it down the shaft slowly. Taking his hand away, he let his fingers trace around the base. Finally, he let his head fall down. The Joker blew softly on the tip. He could see the man shutter below him. Just as he grew closer to it, the Joker sat straight up again. "I think I might need both hands." He quickly unwrapped the duct tape around his hand. He balled it up and threw across the room, then he placed the detonator back his jacket.

Without any other warning, the Joker suddenly covered the tip of Bruce's member with his mouth. Bruce sucked in a sharp breath as he closed his eyes roughly. He had not expected the wave of heat to go over him. Slowly, he eased his eyes open to see the Joker staring at him with a cocky grin. Why did he stop? Bruce went to say something but he could not think of what to say.

A short chuckle escaped the Joker before he leaned back down. Bruce let out a long breath when he felt the man's lips on him again. His head titled back and his hands were planted firmly on the couch. He tried to keep his eyes open but every time, they would fight to stay shut.

Bruce could feel pressure growing in his lower abdomen and opened his eyes. He had been in such a trance-like state for the past few minutes, he had forgot how things were supposed to end. "Something wrong?" He heard the man under say, still smiling.

"I-" He stopped, realizing a sudden ache in his lower region. Bruce was in a slight state of disbelief. He was missing the Joker? The Joker, who was kneeling in front of him, watched him with both frustration and curiosity. He was getting sick of this man's uncertainty.

"You're supposed to be enjoying this. Not thinking." The Joker growled. Bruce wanted to apologize but there was no way to say to that. When the other's mouth was covering him again, he let out a soft moan.

The criminal began using his hands more, fondling him as he sucked on him. A spasm of pleasure overcame him and he found his hands tangled in the Joker's mess of hair.

Really, the Joker enjoyed the rough pulling of his hair. It just encouraged him to do more to the billionaire. He was going to make him cry in pleasure. Make him beg for a release. As he tasted a bit of pre-release and felt Bruce's grip of his hair grow stronger as his breaths became hitched and short, the Joker backed away again.

"Why the hell-?" Bruce began, until he realized how terrible his aggressive, lusty voice sounded.

The Joker giggled. "That just reminded me of when you talk when you are Batman." He said. "Why do you have to sound so stupid? Is it to sound _scary?_" He smiled, trying to push Bruce's buttons.

The dark haired man shook his head in annoyance. He already felt crappy enough that he was letting this man give him oral sex. He was not going to converse with him while he did it and he would not let him get to him in his own house. He wanted the Joker to just finish so he could handcuff the man to somewhere sturdy and sleep in peace. But why the hell did he decide to stop?

Bruce bucked his hips slightly with a soft moan to try to show the Joker he wanted him to finish. His eyes widened when he saw the maniac shake his head. "What do you mean no?" He questioned.

"Beg."

"What?"

"You heard me." The Joker's voice was deeper and darker. "I want you to beg me to finish."

"Like hell..."

"Then you can finish yourself." The Joker backed away on his knees. He turned away and went to push himself off his knees when he heard a long groan and turned his head.

Bruce grabbed himself and circled his thumb on the head. "Mmm, Joker, please," He shot a lustful look to the man in the purple suit. He slid lower down the couch to make it look like he was really in the moment.

"Please what?" The Joker cupped his hand to his ear.

"Please, com-, su-," Bruce could not find the right thing to say so he ended up moaning syllables. He was not sure if he could feel more like an idiot.

"Come on, Batsy. You know the words." The Joker tilted his chin down and quietly mouthed the words.

Bruce's eyes snapped open at the words the Joker wanted him to say. There was no way he was saying it. No way. But as soon as Bruce's finger grazed his member, he moaned, wanting more. Bruce shook his head. He was not going to say it and he was not going to finish things himself. The Joker started this and he'd finish it.

The Joker stood up and dusted off his purple slacks. "If you need me, I'll be in the kitchen."

No, Bruce thought. He couldn't leave. Not now. This... This was not fair. He was torturing him. He was getting so sick of the clown's mind games.

"Joker! I want you to fucking make me come! I want you to make me come so hard, I'll be screaming your name! Fucking make me come!" Bruce yelled. Once he finished, his whole face turned a dark red. Still, his plan worked.

The Joker's eyes lowered as he inched his way back to Bruce, kneeling back down. "Well, if you put it that way..." He grabbed Bruce's hand away and brought it up to his mouth. "Now, that was my job. If you would have said it earlier, you wouldn't have embarrassed yourself so much." The Joker stuck the man's index finger in his mouth, sucked it softly and then took it back out.

He then replaced the finger with Bruce's member. He continued to make soft noises as the Joker continued his work. Soon, Bruce felt the familar sensation in his lower abdomen. The sudden realization that he would actually come to the Joker embarassed him even more. He turned his head and squeezed his eyes shut.

The Joker noticed this and glared. He reached up with the hand he was not using and grabbed Bruce by the chin. "Come on now. Look at me. I want to see you face twisted in pleasure." He sang before sucking harder.

Bruce's hands clutched the couch cushions. He found himself squinting his eyes open to watch the Joker. Short, hot breaths escaped him. "Jo- Joker." He said under his breath, replacing his hands in the other's wavy hair.

"Louder." The Joker smirked as Bruce thrust his hips into his mouth.

"More. Please." Bruce's whole body was turning into jelly. His grip loosened as he began to lose control.

The Joker shook his head. "Not good enough."

Bruce attempted to push the Joker's head down onto him but the man fought against him. "Harder." Bruce's voice was stronger.

"Better."

As the Joker took in more of him and Bruce realized how far he was. His vision went white as he let out a shout and came in the Joker's mouth. This caught him by surprise. He took a second to get used to what happened, and then swallowed quickly. He lifted his head and licked his lips, grinning at the man under the mask. "Delicious."

Bruce blushed and stood up. He quickly pulled up his boxers and pants. "Aww. That's it? Come on! We can have much more fun!" The billioniare began walking away as he buttoned his slacks. Once again, the Joker was close behind. "You can't deny that you enjoyed that. Imagine how you would feel if we went further!"

But Bruce did not respond. He walked around, as if he was searching for something. This, of course, annoyed the Joker. Bruce stopped to open and reach in a cabinet. The Joker growled under his breath before shouting, "Do NOT ignore me!" He raised his hand to Bruce.

At once, the clown's eyes were wide. Bruce spun around quickly, grabbed the man's raised fist and leaned in for a kiss. Bruce's eyes sparkled with amusement as they looked into the Joker's wide greens. He backed away with an indifferent way and began walking away.

The Joker went to follow him when he felt his arm be yanked back. Staring back, the Joker scowled at the handcuffs chaining him to the cabinet. "I would have never guessed you like it this way!" The Joker giggled as he yelled to the other. Bruce turned into the other room, now out of the Joker's vision. The criminal stared at the doorway for a few seconds, knowing he'd come back with a smile.

He began counting minutes in his head. Five minutes, ten, and soon almost a half an hour had passed without any response from Batsy. The bastard! The Joker began to flail against the wall, hoping that excessive force would loosen the chains or cabinet. Unfortunately, both were very well built and did not budge.

He could not believe it. He had actually fallen for it. The man actually suckered him in to being distracted long enough to handcuff him somewhere without him fighting back. He had to give him props for that. The Joker sighed and sank down against the wall. Couldn't he at least have left in a chair in range? It was uncomfortable having to sit down with your arm chained to something above your head.

Meanwhile, Bruce laid in his bed without any blankets covering him. His body was still incredibly hot from what happened before. For the first time in ages, Bruce wore a shirt with his pajama pants to bed. Was he conscious that the Joker would see him without his shirt if he did not wear when? Since when was Bruce embarrassed to show his body?

He was still in a state of disbelief. Bruce knew he should not have let the Joker give him a blow job. He regretted letting it go as far as it did.

But then why was there a voice in the back of his head regretting that he did not let the Joker go farther?

Bruce placed his face in his pillow. This was bad. He was not supposed to be lusting over the Joker. He was supposed to have the desire to capture him and send him back to Arkham, which would happen in the morning. Bruce just needed some sleep to clear his head and then he would hand the Joker into police's hands in the morning.

But should he really just left him against a wall? It would be quite uncomfortable to have to stay against for six hours.

-- -- --

The Joker opened his eyes as light pushed against his eyelids. Was it really morning already? Wait... When had he fallen asleep? He just remembered sitting in the dark for a few hours, thinking to himself, and then he fell asleep. It was what he normally did in Arkham. But this time, it seemed slightly worse. There were no guards to bother while they passed him. He was alone. Alone, in the house of the only person he wanted to be with. How ironic.

He heard something hit the floor in front of him and opened his eyes all the way. Bruce had set down a tray of food. On the silver tray, there was a couple pieces of toast with jelly next to them. Beside it was a plastic cup filled with orange juice. The Joker cocked an eyebrow at the other man. "What am I supposed to put the jelly on with?"

"Use your fingers." Bruce shrugged, heading back to the kitchen.

"Only if you'll lick my fingers for me afterwards." He called out. Bruce jumped in his steps, being startled by the man's comment. He shrugged and shook his head, continuing to the kitchen. The Joker sighed, reaching out for some jelly and placing it on the toast. Why did Bruce have to leave him by himself? Most people felt it was best to sit and watch him. Yet, Bruce somehow knew better and left him alone.

The Joker could not stand it.

He picked up the toast and bit into it. Pretty simple of a breakfast. Wait... Why was Bruce Wayne even feeding him breakfast? Unless, he...

Bruce entered the room with a few pieces of an orange in his hand. "What time is it?" The Joker asked him quickly.

"It's almost four thirty." Bruce placed a piece in his mouth and chewed. "Eat. It's probably better than the bread and water they give you at Arkham."

The Joker was right. The man was going to send him to Arkham! He knew his chances of having his night with Bruce Wayne, his Batsy, and escaping were incredibly low but the Joker normally worked against the odds. He really was not up for going back to the place he hated most.

He stared at his feet. There had to be a way he could get out of this. While thinking, he took another bite out of his jelly covered toast. The Joker glanced back up to see Bruce in a dress shirt and pants. "Why did you put so much effort into getting dressed at four thirty?"

"It was all I had to wear." Bruce ate another piece.

"Bullshit. No one has only dress clothes in their closet."

Bruce ignored his comment and waited patiently for him to finish his breakfast. The Joker licked his fingers clean and glanced up at Bruce. "Will you visit me?" The Joker asked him.

The man just stared down at the handcuffed Joker with a curious look. "I wonder how they will react when they see you without your makeup."

The Joker sighed softly. "A select few of the guards and doctors have washed it off me before so it no longer matters if they see me without it."

"I'm surprised." Bruce said. "I figured you would not feel like yourself without your makeup."

The Joker shrugged. "I guess you could put it that way. What about you? Do you feel more like Bruce Wayne when you are Batman or do you feel more like Batman when you are Bruce Wayne?"

A surprised look was plastered on Bruce's face. "What do you mean by-"

Suddenly, the steel-plated shields over all of the exits over the house lifted and retracted back to their hiding spots. Bruce and the Joker both had been startled by the sudden sound when the house had been quiet.

They waited a few minutes to see if anything happened after that. Bruce knew no one would appear since they still had quite some time until the police arrived. After the Joker figured out that nothing was happening, he stared back at Bruce. "Well?"

"Why should I answer your question?" He asked.

The Joker sighed. "You cannot hide it." He shook his head. "I saw the way you looked at everyone when we were at the Wayne Tower. You looked like you were acting. Everything you did, you made it up so no one could figure out who your truly are. I think that Batman for you is a way of expressing yourself. You do not have to worry about people judging you. You get to just let go. So, let me ask you this question. Do you ever miss your mask?"

The thing that made Bruce angry was that he began questioning himself because of the man. He turned and swiftly walked away without answering. Though, the Joker knew he won that battle and he began laughing loudly.

Bruce went and found himself a black coat and placed it on. It was chilly in the morning. He dragged a chair from the dining room over to where the Joker was sitting. He sat about twenty feet away from the Joker.

The Joker let out a deep breath. "Did you take a minute or two to think about it?"

"Just sit tight for a few minutes." Bruce said, resting his head in his hands. Suddenly, a loud slam filled the room, making both Bruce and the Joker jump. Their heads turned to see what had happened. A squad of men filled into the mansion.

"Mr. Wayne!" One of them shouted. Bruce sighed to himself. They were almost an hour early.

He stood up from his chair and waved the men over to him. They stared curiously when they saw him chained to the cabinet. Bruce leaned down and pulled a key from his pocket to unlock the handcuffs. Once he was free from his chains, two men grabbed the Joker by his arms. The criminal willingly walked with the cops. He looked disappointed but not defeated.

Bruce followed them to the front door as Gordon ran up to the door. "Bruce Wayne." He nodded to the man, sticking his hand out to shake his hand. Really, Bruce wanted to laugh and say they were already familiar with each other but he just stuck his own hand out and shook it. "I am Commissioner Gordon. Is everything okay? Did he damage anything?"

He shook his head. "I fought with him but I was finally able to handcuff him to a secure area where he could not do anything." Bruce stated. His face lit up a fraction as Alfred appeared on the scene. He walked up to the door and patted Bruce's shoulder.

"Glad to see you're safe, Master Bruce."

Bruce gave the butler a nod. "I'm glad to see you got police here before anything happened."

The three men stood in an awkward silence. Then, Gordon chuckled nervously. "Well, thank you Mr. Wayne for helping us capture the criminal. If there is anything you need from us, just call." He said before dashing off to the patrol cars.

Bruce watched them guide the Joker to the car. Just before they placed him in the car, the Joker looked back and winked to Bruce. The billionaire felt chills travel down his spine. He hoped nothing bad happened...

TBC!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:**I am sorry for the giant hiatus... I'm on hiatus in a lot of things cuz... let's just say I encountered some complications. xD

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Batman or any of it's characters.

-- -- --

"Are you kidding me?" Gordon shouted as he quickly paced down the narrow hallways of Arkham. These hallways were not for the normal prisoners. No, these were the hallways that allowed no sunshine to ever be seen. A place that was so dark and cold, it reminded Bruce of something that one would see in a castle dungeon. There were dim lights that lit up the hallways that showed Gordon, Batman and the three Arkham guards that were guiding them towards the cell that was their destination.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but he appears to have escaped." One guard said.

"You could not even contain him for a week?" Gordon clenched his fists tightly. The Joker had returned to Arkham Asylum six days ago and had just escaped this morning. The three guards were speechless.

"What about the video cameras?" Bruce asked in his deep voice.

The shortest guard coughed softly, then said, "He was in his room one moment, and then he looked up at the camera, smiled and suddenly, all of the cameras on this level went out. We had them back up within ten seconds but he still managed to get away." Bruce nodded. "But he left something for you."

"Me?" Bruce questioned.

The tallest guard unlocked the door and opened it for them. Batman entered first, followed by Gordon and the guards. There, left wall when one entered from the door, were two straight jackets. He would not have noticed them if he was not looking for something odd in the room and sure enough, it was quite odd for two straight jackets to be hanging on a wall.

He stepped closer to the two white jackets and noticed that one was the one that he was forced to wear while in Arkham. Finely stitched into a patch by the right breast area was "The Joker". This immediately made Bruce look over at the other one. In the same area, written in blood, was "Batsy". Bruce felt his heart skip a beat.

Why would the Joker put something like this out in the open?

"I've heard a fair share of crazies say how they long to put you in here with them." The other guard, who was a bit fatter than the other two, told Batman. "I can't say I'm surprised he left something like this- OW!" The taller guard elbowed him.

Gordon stared at them with an annoyed expression for a few seconds, then turned to Batman. "Do you think that this means that he's going to come after you?"

"It's only right to assume so, I guess." Bruce growled. The Joker went after him often, but now that he knew his identity, the Joker could go after him any time of the day.

As Bruce headed back to the hideout, he wondered how he was supposed to avoid the criminal. Of course, he would go after the Joker but he first needed a plan, something that would no doubt keep the Joker in Arkham. Bruce removed his costume and went over to his computers to begin looking up things. The Joker knew where his house was but not where his batcave was. At least he had one area of secrecy...

He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost did not notice Alfred enter. The older man came up and placed a newspaper on the desk. "I requested that they stopped publishing the story and replace it with something else but the head director said that he saw no reason to remove it, even if you did request it's removal." The butler told him softly. Bruce reached over and glanced at the paper. He opened it and began searching through articles. "It's on the third page but it's still noticeable."

Just as Alfred said, on the third page was an article that read: "Wayne Gives to Gotham's Youth." Bruce quickly scowled at the paper and threw it to the side. "I forgot about that..." He said lowly.

"Yes, but forgetting does not mean that you do not have to do it."

"Can't we reschedule it?" Bruce turned to Alfred. "Or maybe you could do it." He said hopefully.

"Master Bruce, as much as I would love to read to elementary students and talk to them about what we are doing to help their mommies and daddies, I think I will have to pass the offer."

Bruce could not hide his smile. Alfred's sarcasm did not help the situation but it lightened the mood. "There's no doubt that he'd attack during the day."

"No doubt." Alfred repeated.

"And no doubt he would not regret holding an elementary school hostage." Bruce began speaking to himself aloud. "Sure, they are going to make lousy bodyguards follow me but they won't be any help." He looked up at Alfred and sighed. "I guess there is nothing I can do but prepare for the worst, right?"

"That's quite optimistic for you, Master Bruce."

"Well, I cannot let him harm innocent children." He leaned back in his chair, sighing as he stared at the concrete ceiling. "Why do I keep being put in terrible situations? It's almost as if he's planning these things out." Bruce ignored the small chuckle Alfred made after a few seconds.

-- -- --

"Everyone, I would like you all to give a warm welcome to Mr. Bruce Wayne." The teacher motioned towards Bruce, who just smiled kindly. In unison, the children all said, "Hello, Mr. Wayne." The teacher took a seat in her chair and nodded towards the chair next to her, telling Bruce to sit down. Bruce grimaced at the tiny elementary school chair and sat down. "Now, before he begins, does anyone have any questions for Mr. Wayne?"

At once, many of the kids hands went up. Bruce's eyes scanned the room as he looked for a child to choose. "How about you?"

It was a small girl in a pink dress. She asked him, "Why do you have two first names?"

Bruce heard Alfred, who was standing behind him with two big bodyguards, start chuckling and growled to himself. "Many people have a last name that can also be a first name." Bruce quickly moved onto another child. "Yes?"

"What's it like to be rich?" A boy questioned eagerly. "Do you get to have fancy stuff, and have butlers and maids do all your chores for you and play with toys that only you can play with?"

"I guess you could say that." Bruce laughed. "But I prefer to contribute my profits to organizations and charities that are in need for the benefits." He looked up and noticed all the children's confused expression. "I like to give my money to places that need it." The kids all nodded, understanding him.

"Like, do you use your money to get rid of all the bad men?" A girl with short blonde hair asked.

He chuckled and shook his head. "I can only wish that it would be that easy." Bruce told the kids. "But I give money to people like the policemen so that they can keep their men safe and so they can have better weapons to go against the bad men. I care about the people of Gotham and I will do anything within my power to help them." As Bruce stopped, he kept his look on the children, completely leaving the teacher's blushing face ignored.

"Well then, let's begin." Bruce reached under his chair where a few book lay. He picked up one and started reading to the children. His voice was soft and smooth but he gave emotion to the emotional movements. Alfred did not expect Bruce to be doing so well. For about fifteen minutes, Bruce read through the child's book. When he finished, everyone clapped. The teacher still appeared to be a little flustered from him but she just cleared her throat and stood in front of the class.

"We are going to take a quick break and then Mr. Wayne will read us his last book." She nodded kindly to Bruce before moving into the crowd of children.

Bruce felt Alfred take a step closer to him and turned his head. "That was quite emotional, yet beautiful." He joked. "Next thing you know, they are going to have you doing classroom tapes for books."

"I'd rather that not happen." Bruce managed to get himself out of the tiny chair and stretch. He pulled his arm over his head when he suddenly noticed something while he was looking up at the air vent directly above him.

Up at the air conditioning vent, the ceiling looked discolored. It looked like a pale yellow spreading on the ceiling. Bruce suddenly gasped and ran to the teacher. "Why don't you guys go get a drink of water?"

"But we-"

"No, I think water is a good idea." He put his hands on her back and began pushing her out the door softly. "Come on, kids." Bruce said. "Water time."

The bodyguards followed Bruce's suit. They appeared confused, along with the others.

"Sir, what is happening?" Alfred grabbed Bruce roughly by his arm but Bruce shook him away loosely.

His breathing was deep and his eyes were lowered. "Just go. He's here. I don't want him going after anyone else." As Bruce sank to his knees and doubled over, Alfred grabbed the rest of the children and rushed them out. The butler shut the door behind him.

"What are you doing?" The teacher yelled at Alfred and the bodyguards. Seeing as though the bodyguards knew nothing of what was going on, Alfred stepped up.

"Miss, please do not yell. You will frighten the children." He told her calmly. "In short, the Joker is after Bruce Wayne for some reason. He did not want to disappoint the children by cancelling but there was the possibility that something like this would happen. We can make up a lie to the children but they cannot come back by here." Alfred said.

"But why is he in there alone?" She tried to take a step towards the door but one of the bodyguards stopped her.

"Listen." He began. "The Joker is only after Bruce. He is willing to leave himself behind so that the maniac does not come after the children because you know as well as I do that he will. Do not worry. Bruce knows that he will not kill him. We just have to let him play it out and do not interfere."

"How do you know this for sure?" The teacher crossed her arms over her chest.

Alfred glanced at her angrily. "Just trust us."

Meanwhile, in the room, it was beginning to fill up with the odd colored vapor. Bruce laid on the ground, motionless. All of his muscles felt sore and he did not want to move. Suddenly, he heard his heart beat loudly for a few beats. It was painful but for some reason, a giggle escaped Bruce's mouth.

The giggles turned into chuckles and minutes later, Bruce was pushing himself up to sit on his knees while he began laughing hysterically. He saw something move from the corner of his eye but he could not turn his head because of how hard he was laughing. A figure jumped down from inside the ceiling. He was wearing a gas mask but his usual purple suit. As he took steps towards Bruce, he chuckled softly. "What kind of pathetic corrupted system is this? You are not atoning for your sins by reading for little kids, are you?"

Bruce finally managed to turned his body to the Joker. The criminal finally got a good look at Bruce. The man's dark eyes were wide with hysteria, his mouth was stuck in a smile and his skin had turned pale. "Oh, Brucey. I just want you to get used to the feeling of anarchy. Of no control. Of chaos. What it will feel like when law is lawless." He explained to him. "This is a little thing I had the Scarycrow make for me."

As the smoke began to clear out of the room, the Joker took off his gas mask. Bruce had fallen on his knees and elbows, hiding his face but the uncontrolled laughter still rang from him. "Are you feeling those sensations that you thought were dead?" He giggled. "Don't worry, Batsy." The Joker leaned down in front of Bruce as he prepared to lift his head. "This is all in your head."

At that moment, Bruce lifted his head and his eyes met with the Joker's greens. The Joker's expression fell when he saw tears pouring out of Bruce's eyes. The man was laughing hysterically but was crying? A second later, Bruce managed to let out a scream as he turned away. He brought his knees to his chest and hid his face.

In Bruce's head, thousands of thoughts crossed through his mind. Many were memories while many others were random images. All of the sudden, everything slowed down and he saw his parents stand above him. They smiled for a minute until their faces transformed into something monster-like. That was when he screamed and jumped away.

He couldn't handle all of this. Bruce continued to tell himself that none of these images were real and he was just sitting in an empty room but he could not control any other thoughts.

The Joker stood there, petrified. He did not know what to do. He had no idea that things would turn out like this. He figured Bruce would handle it better. Then again, Scarecrow could have given him a concentrated version without him knowing. The Joker's eyes turned darker as he thought about this. He was going to get that man back for this.

Now that the gas was completely cleared out of the room, Bruce's laughter was dying down. It became short bursts of giggles and loud laughter. Yet, he remained in the position he was in.

After thinking about it, the Joker decided not to move. He wondered if something like that would change Batsy's mind. Maybe he'd have the desire to kill after having his mind torn apart in the span of three minutes. But wasn't that what the Joker wanted? To get Batman to kill him? If he killed the Joker, then he'd have killed someone.

The Joker was surprised by his own thoughts. As he thought about everything, he discovered he didn't want him to kill him. After discovering Batsy was Brucey, he wanted to have more fun. He wanted to play with them more. The two of them were just so much fun and they were worth staying around for. (Yeah, he still did not think that Batman and Bruce were one in the same. They just seemed so different to be the same guy!)

"What do you want, Joker?" Bruce said coldly, though his tone was ruined by the chuckle after.

"Hm?" The Joker cupped his ear, leaning towards Bruce.

The billionaire turned his head and glared at the Joker. Still, a smile or laugh would break through every ten or twenty seconds. Unfortunately for Bruce, those did not go away as fast as the hysterical laughter did. "Why are you here?"

The Joker took a short step towards the other. "I wanted to talk."

"Then talk." He was extremely angry at the criminal. Still, Bruce was not so stupid to actually go after the Joker in the condition he was in.

He took on a more serious appearance to maybe intimidate Bruce but he soon realized that nothing would intimidate the man at the moment. "So, you went through all of that trouble to put me in Arkham just so I can easily escape. Batsy, I thought that you had something better up your sleeve."

"Don't call me that." He spoke in his Batman voice, even though it seemed like he did not mean to.

Glancing over at the doors, then the windows, the Joker shrugged his shoulders. "Why not? No one is here to see. Everyone ran away."

Bruce suddenly starting laughing again. He tried covering his mouth to muffle it but needed the hand to hold himself up. It passed after a minute and he was calm again. "What the hell is this?"

"Is what?"

He tried to push himself up to a standing position. Bruce felt weak and his whole body shook when his outbursts came. He was stuck on the floor. "You know what I am talking about. This gas. Whatever you poisoned me with."

The criminal took a moment to think. Then, "I believe it was an altered version of nitrous oxide. That would explain the odd color to it. ...Well, if there is something added to it, it is not exactly nitrous oxide. Either way, I'm sure it was a base ingredient."

"You are using something that you don't even know what it is?" Bruce went to charge at him but fell back to the ground, chuckling happily.

The Joker shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?" His green eyes glittered, seeing Bruce under him. "Now, I would like to make a negotiation."

"A negotiation?" He breathed deeply, trying to control the laughter.

"You know that they can't keep me in Arkham. I will always find a way out." A smile danced on his lips. "And the only way to get rid of me, Batsy, is to kill me, which you won't. For some stupid reason." The last sentence, the Joker looked away for a moment and mumbled it under his breath.

"And?"

The two had a stare down. It lasted almost thirty seconds before Bruce began giggling. The Joker smiled and leaned down to stand on his toes but brought his knees up to his chest. "I like it when you smile." He sang joyfully.

"It's not as if I have a choice." Bruce lashed back.

"I'll tell you what." The Joker hopped closer. "To tell the truth, Scarecrow told me that the effects will not go away completely for at least two weeks. Something about the chemical taking a while to be washed out of your system. I don't know too much chemistry. Or biology. Yeah..." He ran his hands through his greasy hair.

Bruce's eyes went wide. "What?" He shouted, quickly punching the Joker, landing his fist on the man's left cheek.

He swayed back and forth, trying to regain his balance. Finally, the Joker was able to maintain his position and let out a deep sigh. "You sound like you think it's a bad thing." He smiled once again, licking his lips. "How about this? I think we should be friends."

"Never."

"Well, you know, when things start to get boring, I have more where that came from." He motioned up at the ceiling, speaking of the gas he had used.

Bruce's eyes lowered. "I would never affiliate myself with a low criminal like you."

"That's not what you were thinking when you kissed me after you came in my mouth."

At once, Bruce stared at the floor. He rested his forehead on the carpet. All he could think was, "Ew..." He did not even acknowledge the Joker when he started snickering. Why did he have to bring that night up? As if he did not regret it enough. Not only did he let the Joker do something like that but he enjoyed it. Bruce decided that he would just keep his head down for a while. And the stupid laughs were not helping him!

"So what do you say?" The Joker chuckled. "We can grow more acquainted. I'll let you- OW!" He hopped backwards when Bruce punched his leg. "There's no reason to be embarrassed by the truth, Batsy." He growled. Then, an idea popped in his head. "In fact," He began as he stood up. The Joker stayed still until the right time. Right as Bruce had a small fit of laughing, the Joker jumped forward. He turned Bruce over, forcing him to lay on his back. He did all of this in one swift moment, and at the end of it, he had a laughing Bruce underneath him as he sat on Bruce's waist. "Don't you think this would be an entertaining situation?"

Bruce laughed, shaking his head. He pushed the Joker away with one arm while covering his mouth with the other. The clown easily knocked the hand to the side. He glanced down with a wide grin. His fingers traveled to his belt and began to play with it. Bruce launched his knee into the man's back. The Joker's expression fell. "Why do you have to be like that?"

"Get off me." He snapped, quickly jerking the Joker off of him. He finally found his way onto his feet. Bruce was standing in a fighting position but he could not stand up straight.

"Now, now, Batsy, I-"

All of the sudden, the door slammed open and a dozen officers accompanied by Alfred and Gordon blocked the exit. The Joker bent forward and pulled Bruce close to him, pointing a knife at his throat. "Let him go now!" Gordon shouted.

"Why would I do that?" The Joker's free hand traveled down to rub Bruce's thigh. Bruce let out a loud giggle. The Joker smirked and glanced up at the officers. "He seems to like it."

All of their handguns were pointed at the Joker. "Joker..." The leading officer threatened.

"You guys are no fun." He reached in his his long jacket and pulled out a grenade. At once, all of the officers became more serious. He brought it up to his mouth and pulled out the pin with his teeth. "Farewell, good soldiers!" He saluted them and rolled the grenade over to them. The Joker then pushed Bruce over at them.

"It's gonna blow!" One of the officer's screamed. They all scrambled around, trying to get away. Alfred ran forward and caught Bruce. Right as he turned around, there was a loud bang but there was no explosion. The room filled with smoke.

"Damn it. A smoke grenade?" Gordon asked, trying to blow the smoke with his hand and coughing at the same time. In a matter of seconds, the smoke cleared with the Joker no where in sight. "Search the area." Gordon turned on his heel and yelled to the other officers. "I can't believe it. A simple magician's trick... Is he okay?" He approached Alfred. The two older men stared down at Bruce, who was chuckling joyfully to himself.

"Master Bruce? Master Bruce, can you hear me?" Alfred tried to keep Bruce standing straight.

"I-....I need-" He burst out loudly with laughter and fought to double over but Alfred held him up.

"What is it, Master Bruce?"

"Get a doctor." Bruce told Alfred before continuing.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **-looks at the dates for this thing- ...OH MY GOODNESS...This is pathetic how long it has taken me... I'm going to try to update more often but we all know how well I stick to my word... Sorry guys...

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Batman or any of it's characters.

-- -- --

A man in a white lab coat walked into Bruce's large penthouse room. He glanced over at Bruce, who was sitting up in his bed, with Alfred sitting in a wooden chair next to him. "Well?" Bruce asked.

The doctor walked up to the two and glanced down at his clipboard. "Well, we've been watching you for three days now and we've taken blood tests. I am not sure if three days will tell us enough but you insist that three days is enough." He stopped to look up at Bruce. Looking back down, he continued. "The drug does not seem to be growing weaker as the days have passed. The chemical is very hard to find in your bloodstream, but that might be why it does not affect you that badly most of the time."

"Well, what about the-?"

"The outbursts?" The doctor questioned. Bruce nodded softly. "We still have not found out too much about that." He said quietly. "I actually came in here to ask you about that. It's a complete mystery as to why the drug affects you like it does. All we know is that it only seems to come only once during every 24 hours. Plus, it seems to only appear at night, so you should be alright, as long as you don't go to any late night parties." He chuckled softly. Bruce and Alfred looked at each other nervously. "I know this might be a little uncomfortable, but I need you to tell me what happens, how you feel, when you have your outbursts, or attacks."

Bruce looked unsure. He really did not feel like doing something like this. He took a deep breath and right as he opened his mouth, he began laughing. Quickly, Bruce covered his mouth to muffle the laugh and looked down.

"Mr. Wayne, you do not need to hide it. It is just Mr. Pennyworth and I."

But Bruce did not reply. He did not care that no one else would know besides the other two. Hell, he barely showed his emotions to Alfred. He managed to take a deep breath and calm down. "When it happens, I see visions of my parents. Besides those, I see people I do not like laughing at me. I am normally in a cold, dark area for a period of time. I am alone but I don't care. I just sit though the hallucinations until they pass and I am able to calm down."

It was quiet. Bruce kept his face hidden for a few more minute and while he did it, he kept laughing. When he finally stopped, he raised his head. Alfred was acting like everything was normal, even though Bruce could see he was nervous. The doctor was scratching down notes while Alfred gave Bruce a reassuring smirk. The doctor then stood up. "Well, Mr. Wayne, we just advise that you let Mr. Fox attend to your work and you not go out often. Also, it appears as though the outbursts come often at night, so no late night parties." He joked softly, chuckling to himself. "We will check your progress in a week." He nodded goodbye and walked off.

Bruce and Alfred stared at each other for a few seconds. Then,

"I have to."

"No, you don't."

"I'll be fine."

"What do you do if one of your attacks comes when you are fighting someone? You cannot just "wait it out", Master Bruce."

Bruce ran his fingers through his hair. "I have already missed three nights. If I miss any more, they will start to get ideas."

He swung his feet around and placed them on the floor. As he stood up, Alfred grabbed him by his arm. "You are being careless."

"How is this different than normal, Alfred?" Bruce took notice that Alfred's hand was shaking.

"This time, there is the possibility that you might not be able to escape in time."

He pulled his arm away from Alfred. He could not stand it when others acted like this towards him. It just seemed too sappy... "I can tell when it is coming. When I feel it, I'll run away or something." He told the butler, facing the other way. He couldn't lie right in Alfred's face, so he acted like he was heading over to get his car keys.

Alfred said no more. He just sighed and held the door open for Bruce as he walked through the door.

--

The Joker grabbed Johnathan Crane by the collar of his shirt and slammed his back against the wall. His eyes were the darkest shade of green as he stared the doctor in the eyes. "Were you trying to sabotage that drug?"

Laughing softly, Johnathan looked up and sighed. "Sabotage it? Joker, you know my line of work. There is no way I can create a drug and not add a little bit of this and that in it." He chuckled darkly. "Do tell me, how did it work? How did he react?" The Joker slammed his against the wall harshly again, his eyes lowered.

Crane turned his head slightly. His glasses dropped down to the cold, stone floor, making a small noise. The two did not say a thing to each other. That is, until Crane questioned him, "So?"

The Joker pulled a knife out of his sleeve and held it up to Johnathan's neck. "He started laughing hysterically," His voice was deep and cold.

"Just as planned."

"And when he looked at me, he was crying. He couldn't stand the sight of me."

"Who can?" Crane smugly said. Right as it looked like the Joker was really about to kill him, Crane held up one of his hands. "The drug causes hallucinations. He was not crying because of you, if that is what you are so worried about." The Joker's grip grew slightly looser. "You asked for a "gas with a kick" so I added a small amount of my fear toxin in it. Not enough to harshly affect someone. Also, the side effects will be different my combining the two different mixtures. I need observations and results."

Quickly, he threw Crane on the floor and turned his back to the Scarecrow. "Watch him yourself, then."

"You would allow someone else to watch your _Batsy?_" Crane pushed himself off the ground. He dusted off his sleeves. "It'd help if you told me more about his reactions but I can find my own test subject for observation if you are unwilling to help." He turned on his heel to see that the Joker was looking through his lab table. Sure, they were in his lab but did the Joker really have to get into his things?

"What are these?"

Crane chuckled as he walked over by the Joker. "Anything you can think up. I may specialize in fear toxins but that does not limit the chemicals and drugs I create." He told the man in the purple suit. "Pain killers, anesthetics, aphrodisiacs," The Joker twitched slightly. "Anything." The small light in the dark lab reflected off of Crane's glasses, hiding the expression in his eyes. "You can take anything but you are going to need to pay for it."

The Joker snickered quietly. "I don't think I will be needing anything." Without another word, he stepped out of the room.

---

"Come on! Hurry up!" A deep voice shouted to the other men. There were about twenty men all crammed into the bank vault. Standing at the entrance was Maroni. He would wave his cane around, ordering where people should put the money or which way they were supposed to go. "This is our final round so get everything you can!" He shouted. A few seconds later, a few men ran past him with black bags filled with money.

He sighed and crossed his arms across his chest, leaning against the wall. He felt so ridiculous for doing this. Either way, desperate times called for desperate measures. Men emptied out of the room, one by one. Maroni counted each of them and eyed what they were taking out. He was sure they had taken at least a few hundred thousand. It wasn't much, but it would do for the time being.

Finally, there were about five men left, loading everything into their bags. Maroni turned around quickly. He figured that he'd head to the vans. The other men would follow soon enough. As his eyes lifted to look straight, there standing in front of him was a figure dressed in all black. Maroni's eyes lowered. "So, you really were just taking a break?" He said with an annoyed tone.

"What does it matter?" Batman growled to him.

Maroni pushed his fingers through his hair and placed a smile on his face. "Heh, just when we thought that maybe we could get a break too." His hand fell back to his sides. The other brought his cane up and began twirling it around.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Bruce said without any sign of sympathy in voice.

Taking a step to the side, Maroni peeked up the stairs that led up to the lobby of the bank. Even though he already figured, he couldn't see anything up there. Great. This meant he would have to talk to the stupid Bat until he found a chance to run away. His free hand slid behind his back. "I take it that-"

"That your men are soon going to be in the custody of the police?" Batman chuckled softly. At first, Maroni raised an eyebrow at this. Soon, confusion was taken over by anger. He was not going to deal with his smart ass.

Maroni chuckled himself. "That's a shame," His eyes lowered. "Because I won't be." Swiftly, he pulled out a gun and fired three shots. One to the chest, one to the shoulder and the final at his neck. The first two bounced off of Batman's armor while the final one was stuck in his cowl. Batman began to laugh more as he picked the bullet out of his cowl. It grew stronger but Maroni could tell Batman was trying to hold it back. Watching Batman with his hands covering his mouth as giggles escaped it enraged Maroni. How dare he mock him.

He charged at him, holding his cane with two hands. Maroni knew he could not do much but maybe he'd be able to do something... As Maroni closed in on Batman, the other man quickly caught the criminal. He immediatly pushed him away from him. Maroni landed with a grunt on the ground as his head hit the wall. He ignored the pain and pushed himself up. Maroni was surprised. Everytime he blinked, the image of what he had just seen, a laughing Batman with wide eyes, stayed in his head.

For the time being, he ignored it. Just as he went to attack Batman again, the Caped Crusader suddenly dropped to his knees. Hysterical laughter escaped from his lips and all Maroni could do was stare in awe. What was happening? He quickly shook his head. This was his chance. Maroni tacked Batman to the floor, leaving his cane behind him.

Maroni sat on top of a laughing Batman with his own grin on his face. "What's so funny, Bat?" He pulled out his gun again and held it to the bottom of Batman's jaw. "I didn't think you had a sense of humor." His voice grew lower as he realized what was happening. He could kill Batman this very moment. And he was going to... But Maroni wanted to savor the moment. His eyes drifted to the cowl. "You know what? Before I finish exterminating the pest, I think I'd first like to figure out who it actually is." With his gun still placed on his jaw, Maroni's other hand grabbed on of the ears. He gave it a slight yank, when suddenly, there was a large explosion and the wall besides him was blown to pieces.

Someone swung in, kicking Maroni off of Batman and then sliding and landing on the slippery floor. Maroni held his side, where he had been kicked, and looked up at the figure, waiting for the smoke to clear.

There was a quiet moment, where the only thing that could be heard were the quiet giggles of Bruce in the background. Then, "Did I hit you, Italian? My bad." The Joker placed his hands in his suit pockets and smirked at the older man.

"What-what are you doing here?" Maroni hissed through his teeth.

The Joker leaned back and forth. "Well, I heard the sound of a cat catching a bat. Survival of the fittest always interested me so I wanted to see who would win." He noticed Maroni's annoyed expression and snickered. "What? Don't believe me?"

"Not in the least." He reached for his cane and pushed himself up. Limping towards the superhero who was still laying on the floor, laughing, Maroni glanced back up at the Joker. For some reason, the other criminal's eyes were darker. They were lower too. What was this guy's problem?

Of course, the Joker had a problem with Maroni. It wasn't a single thing, but many. Not only did this man try to hurt Batman, but he spoke to him with such a disgusting tone. He would have to teach a lesson to the stupid Itailian mobster. With a swift motion of his hand, the Joker had pulled out a knife from out of the sleeve of his purple jacket. At once, Maroni's eyes widened. "What do you think you're doing?" He spat.

Just as the Joker's hand twitched to throw it, he heard Bruce scream out, "Stop!". The Joker turned his head downwards, noticing that Batman was pushing himself up.

"I can take care of myself, Bat." Maroni growled. Without a warning, Maroni suddenly let out a loud scream. The Joker had thrown the knife at the other's foot.

"Joker, that was-" Bruce stopped to let out a laugh. "Unnecessary."

"I don't see how." The Joker smirked at the Italian in front of him, growling in pain.

"Why are you here?" Bruce worked his way up to his feet.

The Joker cocked an eyebrow at the hero. "Didn't you hear me? I already told him." He nodded his head towards Maroni. Maroni pulled out the knife finally and scowled as he threw it to the floor. Right away, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at the Joker. The Joker's expression did not change much. If any, it just became more annoyed.

"You think you can just come in here and make a fool of me?" Maroni let out a dark chuckle. As his hand twitched to pull the trigger, something clanked next to his feet. All three glanced down. "Tear gas?" The Joker was not amused by this pathetic thing. It began spraying out of the can, effecting Maroni first. He pulled up his gun and went to shoot. Just as Maroni pulled the trigger, Bruce jumped forward in front of the Joker.

The bullet bounced off his suit. Quickly, he grabbed the Joker around his abdomen and took a few steps towards the demolished wall. He shot his grappling hook at one of the roofs next to the bank. With a sudden pull, Bruce carried the Joker up to the roof with him while Maroni remained below.

The Joker stared down. He was sure he heard multiple cops run in and start shouting. But then again, at the current moment, the Joker was not sure what was happening. ...Why had Batman, no, Bruce, saved him? The arm around him was painfully tight, yet it felt warm to the Joker.

He swung up on the rooftop, dropping the Joker immediately. Bruce laughed softly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Tell me." He paused to place a more serious look on his face, holding in the laughter. "What's the antidote?"

"Antidote?" The Joker asked, still in awe from seconds before.

"How do I cure myself? I know you know! Stop playing games and tell me!" Bruce growled at him.

The Joker shook his head. "Like I said before, I didn't make it. I wouldn't know."

At once, Bruce picked up him up by his shirt and held him dangling in the air. "Go and find one."

Staring into his dark eyes, the Joker shook his head. "It's completely experimental. It's made of things that normally can only taken care of by letting it pass. What? You haven't taken blood tests yourself? Gone to a doctor? We both know you have enough money for both." Bruce threw him down.

"Useless." He spat as he walked towards the edge of the building.

"Wait!" Bruce turned his head to see that the Joker had jumped forward, crawling on his knees with an arm reached out. As soon the Joker figured out how ridiculous that looked, he went to a sitting position on his knees. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why'd help me?" His voice was lower, almost as if he was insulted that he was rescued.

Bruce rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid. I needed information and you provided none." He let out a short giggle before jumping off the building. The Joker stood up. He watched the other expand his cape and glide down. He wished that there was another reason but he knew that Bruce was telling the truth. And truthfully, the Joker couldn't stand it.

TBC


End file.
